Kathryn Joosten Dead at 72

Actress Kathryn Joosten, best known to audiences for her Emmy-winning role in 'Desperate Housewives,' has passed away following a lengthy battle with lung cancer. She was 72.

Although her role as lovable neighborhood snoop Karen McCluskey snagged her two Emmy awards (both for Outstanding Guest Star), McCluskey was a longtime veteran of television and film. If you watched 'The West Wing,' she was President Bartlet's secretary, Dolores Landingham. If you watched 'Joan of Arcadia,' she was one of the rotating actors playing God. You may remember as Mrs. Tanner from 'Scrubs' or Claire from 'Dharma and Greg.' Of course, she also made plenty of appearances in a variety of shows, including 'Monk,' 'The Drew Carey Show,' 'General Hospital,' 'The King of Queens,' 'Will & Grace,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Malcolm in the Middle' and 'The Mentalist.' She was a definitive Grandmother figure on the big screen, appearing in everything from 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel' to 'Wedding Crashers.'

Offscreen, she was an animal rights activist and was part of a celebrity group that helped shut down a planned Los Angeles elephant enclosure. In any case, she was a recognizable face and one that we'll miss very much.